The Scots say that Nature itself dictated that golf should be played by the seashore. Rather, the Scots saw in the eroded sea coasts a cheap battleground on which they could whip their fellow men in a game based on the Calvinist doctrine that man is meant to suffer here below and never more than when he goes out to enjoy himself. ALISTAIR COOKE

Earth shattering, this revelation is not: the athletes of the Special Olympics World Games are courageous, inspirational and full of joy.

What may have been most eye-opening in watching the final day of World Games play at L.A.'s Griffith Park: how well-suited golf is for people of all nationalities, genders, ages and abilities. For all we hear about how exclusionary and difficult golf is for a mass audience, a close viewing of these special needs competitors contradicts that view and more.

A few random observations followed by some images and excellent ESPN content from the Games.

--Etiquette, rules. We often hear how the many peculiar written and unspoken rules in golf can be such a turn off to new players and a new generation. Yet watching these mostly young athletes carefully observe all the basics and even the less-appreciated intricacies of etiquette, nor question when they are reminded by their caddie to behave a certain way, their actions reinforce that (A) we approach this weird game the way we do for mostly good reasons and (B) golf should not throw out our traditions to appeal to the moment without really good reason.

--The power of professional golf. From pre-shot routines, to body language, to things as simple as dress, watching these athletes reinforced just how much they are influenced by what they see on television. And in largely a good way. While we get caught up with today's slow play or bad architecture or the occasional whiny pro, for the most part, the golf presented to the world has had a positive impact on these players and other young golfers (minus the corporate logos everywhere). This was most evident when rounds were complete and players of all ages, abilities, nationality and experience engaged in 18th green handshakes and hugs.

--The beauty in golf's pace. We rightly lament the length of rounds and the potential harm slow play has on the sport. Yet many of these athletes, who grapple with issues related to attention span, were focused on their rounds and only because of the heat and humidity, appeared at select times to have their attention waiver. The deliberate nature of a golf round--9 or 18 holes spread out over several hours over several hundred acres--did not discourage these athletes. Nor did anyone appear to lose patience with a few backups caused by some unfortunate placing of lower level competitions amidst the higher caliber competition.

Below is some reading worth your time, including this Steve Craig Press Herald story on Maine's Scott Allen, whose precision pre-shot routine allows him to compete despite needing the assistance of a brace crutch. Allen took the gold in his division and posted a career best 47 in his final round play.

This ESPN story on India's Ankush Saha, who has overcome brain damage to be a two-sport athlete, is also worth watching.

And a final word about level 5 winner Scott Rohrer of York, South Carolina, who posted a 12-under-par 276: he's scary long off the tee, amazingly focused on the task at hand despite any number of chances to get distracted by the back nine pace of play each day, and is a 4.7 index I wouldn't want to face.

You saw his fundamentally perfect action in the images below (and immediately below in the Team USA Stars and Stripes shorts):

Short golf, which started in the 1400s, was usually played on Sundays and festival days when rural folk converged on the towns. The precise rules are unknown and were probably fluid. Evidence compiled by David Hamilton in “Golf: Scotland’s Game” suggests that participants used only one club, that alcohol and high spirits were often part of the deal and that the game could be dangerous. In 1632, a spectator in Kelso was killed by an errant ball.

Which brought him to Topgolf, naturally...

Topgolf, the chain of driving ranges with concentric-ring targets and automatic electronic scoring, as in bowling alleys, may be the closest modern counterpart to 15th century short golf. It doesn’t require much space, like street and churchyard golf back then, and alcohol is usually part of the deal. I recently spent a very enjoyable two hours at a Topgolf facility near O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. I basically just practiced. The targets used in Topgolf focus one’s attention far better than at normal ranges and the scoring creates a sense of pressure as you try to beat your best score. But as a singleton just practicing, I was in the minority. (I also might have been the only customer over 40.) Topgolf is date-night golf, where “one more round” typically means more drinks, not another batch of balls. When I left there was an hour-long line out the door.

Lipping out putts four times on the the front, Tiger still posted a 66 at the Quicken Loans National to trail Ryo Ishikawa through 36 holes.

And earlier this week at the Quicken Loans National, the tournament host said he was close to putting everything together and making the red shirt again mean something on Sunday, that a lucky bounce here or a good break there could be the spark he needs to do a 180 on his dreadful year.

In each instance, eyebrows raised and eyes widened by those within earshot. He became a punchline with his reference to glutes. He was labeled delusional for saying he was in contention at the Masters. He was thought by some to be holding on to a last grasp of hope when referencing his numbers and spin rates. And he was thought to be out of his mind this week when he said he was close to being a contender again.

Let's not misunderstand this point: Just because Woods opened with rounds of 68-66 at his own Quicken Loans National, that doesn't mean all criticism has been proved to be invalid, nor does it mean that he can stick out his tongue and say "I told you so."

What these rounds have proved, though, is that he's been right all along while preaching about "the process" and insisting that he was never going to undergo monumental immediate improvements.

Both are fun because we get to see the ball rolling on the ground. In Rickie Fowler's case, it was at the 200-yard 9th hole and a "walk off" where he was also nearly leveled by two cameraman. Easy there guys!

Ryo Ishikawa'sace at the 178-yard 4th is one of the slowed developing you'll ever see...

The Olympics will get the blame but this was so avoidable (and will be in 2020).

You can study the 2015-16 schedule in all its glory and, if you find it a bit clogged come July, just blame the PGA Of America regime of a few years ago for locking on Baltusrol as its 2016 PGA site before we know if golf would be played in the Rio Olympic Games. Not that they knew was coming. (Baltusrol is close to New York City, where the PGA of America was founded 100 years ago next year.)

Because of Baltusrol's limited golf season and the skewed importance of the NFL, the 2016 PGA can only be played select weeks. This gives us a frantic run that will have ramifications for majors, some PGA Tour events and certainly some of the better European Tour stops played around this time. If ever there were a year to put the WGC Bridgestone on hiatus...

As Rex Hoggardnotes for GolfChannel.com, the John Deere seems to be one taking a hit for the team, but in reality their field will be about the same as normal. Just light on Spieth's and some international players.

"We feel like we’ve had challenging dates over the 45-year history of our event, but the community has always supported it and we stand proud behind our product,” said tournament director Clair Peterson.

The Olympic field will include 60 players but will likely be top-heavy with star players. Current projections indicate that nearly half of the field will be made up of players ranked outside the top 100 in the World Golf Ranking.

“With only four of our American players playing and, to be honest, I don’t know how many Tour players will be in the [Olympic] field, I don’t know how much that will deter a field," Bohn said. "That would be the ultimate concern if I was the tournament director, but I don’t think it will diminish anything.”

Of course, much of this could have been avoided had the PGA not been locked into Baltusrol. It was a harmless, well intentioned move at the time, but by committing to a major venue so far in advance, tied the hands of those trying to make golf's re-entry into the Games a better experience.

That's the question The Guardian's Ewan Murray contemplates as The Donald prepares to arrive at Trump Turnberry Thursday for a press chat and other appearances. (Ron Sirak of GolfDigest.com reports that the questions will be limited to golf for the 1:30 pm Turnberry-time gathering, and has the "T&C" document explaining the restrictions to prove it.)

Disappointingly the European Tour, which hopes to host the Scottish Open at Trump’s course on the outskirts of Aberdeen, has been silent. So, too, the Scottish Government which ploughs £1.4m a year into that event.

The R&A would also happily have dodged the issue until it was put to it immediately before the Open Championship. Turnberry remains part of the Open rota and could host the tournament in 2020. When asked if the R&A’s position had been compromised by Trump’s comments, its chief executive, Peter Dawson, said: “Well, it’s had a lot of publicity, hasn’t it? We don’t have any decisions to make about Turnberry for quite some time and I think we’ll just let a bit of time pass and future championship committees will deal with them at the time.”

In other words: “We hope this issue vanishes.” Equally disappointing was that it shouldn’t have even been the outgoing Dawson’s question to answer. The chairman of that championship committee, Peter Unsworth, sat on his hands alongside him.

USA's Scott Rohrerposted an astounding 9 birdies in his second round 69, leaving him atop the Level 5 competitors with two rounds to go. But as you can imagine, the Special Olympics World Games 2015 aren't about who wins, but who gets to show off their incredible talent and heart.

The competitors are broken up in to divisions, with the elite players contesting 72-holes of stroke play while the newer contestants partake in a multi-station skills challenge. All were taking their competition seriously and performing with great spirit, passion and sportsmanship. It's as inspirational as you'd expect watching these athletes and their volunteer coaches/caddies.

**Here's a great three minute featurette on Ireland's Oliver Doherty, the lad in the green shirt in my photos below. His mother died in a car accident while he was still in the womb and he suffered brain damage in delivery. He was adopted by a pub owner who introduced him to golf.

St Andrews Links Trust meets the charity test of providing public benefit through the advancement of public participation in sport.

It does this through “the provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended”.

Local residents and members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club enjoy privileges in the form of lower annual links fees. This year St Andrews residents can play on all courses for just £200.

Spending increased by 5.5% to £19.16m, with the largest component being payroll costs, which were up 12.3% to £9m. Maintaining the golf links and its associated activities needs a workforce of almost 300.

I'm not sure why there is so much pleasure to be taken in this man's "First shot with my new GoPro" going oh-so-wrong. Maybe it's that his technique suggests someone who has no business recording himself like he could be a Bryan Brother in the next life. Or maybe it's that the camera kept on recording and captured his reaction (caution, bad words used).

Ellen Leyva of KABC7 in LA profiles Orange County's Greg Kozlowski, a veteran of Special Olympics golf playing in his hometown(ish) for this week's World Games.

The final two rounds are being played at Griffith Park Wednesday and Thursday, for those of you in SoCal wanting to take in the action. (More info here.)

Kozlowski already has 25 medals from past Special Olympic events, but he really wants to add a World Games gold medal to his collection.

"I do want to do it, but I'm not going to say I'm going to win a medal and then don't win a medal and put myself down. I'm just going to go out there and have fun and keep an open mind," Kozlowski said.

All the Special Olympics World Games sporting events are free and open to the public.

Matt Ginella and I discussed on Morning Drivethe approach to a Scotland golf trip, and while we didn't agree on who to trust with the details (tour operator vs Google), I'm pretty confident he would endorse the idea of shipping your clubs.

While it's an added expense (up to $500 if the journey is an exotic one), my recent experience confirmed that shipping is a must for Americans traveling to the UK. Yes, it's a tough pill to swallow when you are already spending a lot or worse, if you have status with an airline and get baggage fees waived. But shipping via one of the big services will save you stress, physical effort and in some cases, ensure you get to play your first planned round (or all your rounds with your unbroken set).

Consider my recent experience: fly to London's Heathrow airport on my preferred airline (where I have premium status and therefore a "priority" tag on the bag), then have a four-hour layover.

Surely the clubs would make the connecting flight to Edinburgh, right?

Of course not.

While my suitcase made the journey, the clubs somehow needed another hour in Heathrow before making their way onto the next flight. Because of that, I missed out on a late nine at the incredible Musselburgh on this night:

The clubs did eventually arrive in fine shape, though my trusty Sun Mountain travel bag was missing one of its two wheels. However, I was lucky because U.S. Amateur champion Gunn Yang was in line at the same service desk only to learn his clubs never made it out of London.

With the recent run of UK events, we know from players making the trip that no matter how famous you are or how obvious it is that you are a professional golfer, the airlines just aren't great with golf clubs these days. Especially flying internationally.

For the return journey, Luggage Forwardpicked up my clubs late at my last lodging locale late on a Thursday. After I had made a leisurely trip to the airport without lugging the clubs, I returned home and by the following Monday afternoon the clubs were here. In between I got email updates on their location. Everything was in perfect order. when they arrived.

I've yet to hear of any negative stories about Luggage Forward or the other name brand shipper, ShipSticks. I believe Luggage Forward uses of all three shipping services (DHL, FedEx, UPS), which comes in handy for pricing and getting things picked up conveniently. ShipSticks formerly did, but I believe now relies primarily on UPS. (Here's a good ShipSticks review from Jason Scott Deeganat GolfAdvisor.com.)

Either way, just ship 'em. You may miss a day or two of last minute practice and you won't be able to play immediately after you arrive home. But these are small prices to pay compared to missing out on a great links course or having to enlist rentals because the Heathrow baggage handlers decided to hurl your clubs around the tarmac...for hours.

**The horror stories just keep piling up with Heathrow and British Airways. Stephen Hennesseywith the roundup, including Stacy Lewis and caddie finally deciding to drive to pick up her sticks. And then the real nightmare began.

It's bizarre to believe, but after this week's Quicken Loans National Tiger Woods may only play the PGA Championship and then be done with his 2014-15 season.

But he says after a few days off and some practice, his game is close. Steve DiMegliowrites for USA Today:

Woods has already played 32 holes since arriving here and put in an additional 2 hours, 20 minutes of work on the range Monday. He’ll play another 18 in Wednesday’s pro-am. He’s hoping to play 72 more starting Thursday.

“It's frustrating not to be able to win golf tournaments. I'm not really there in contention very often and so that part is frustrating. But I know how close it feels and I know that I just need a couple shots here and there and it turns the tide,” Woods said. “People don't really realize how close it has been between a person who is winning and a person missing the cut. It's not as big a gap as people might think. … Obviously I’ve got to clean up my rounds, convert the opportunities that I have and I just haven't done it and hopefully I can do it this week.”

As Brian Wackernotes at PGATour.com, only a win this week gets him in to the WGC event next week at Firestone. There's always the Wyndham...

Woods isn’t yet eligible for next week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, though a win this week would get him in.

He could play the Barracuda Championship, opposite the event at Firestone, too, but indicated that he wouldn’t.

After that, there’s the PGA Championship followed by the Wyndham Championship (a tournament he has never played) before the FedExCup Playoffs begin.

Fighting back tears, Hurley, in the field at this week’s Quicken Loans National, said his father drove off in his truck on July 19 with some clothes and cash, and hasn’t been heard from since.

Hurley’s mother filed a missing person’s report Monday in Virginia. The couple lives in nearby Leesburg and has been married more than 30 years. Hurley said his father has no history of mental health issues.

“No one really knows why,” said Hurley, who found out on Monday that his father was missing. “It's complete speculation as to why he left.

“I'm just hoping that there's a story that maybe he goes to PGATOUR.COM to check my tee time or check my score and sees this and understands that dad, we love you and we want you to come home. We have no idea where he is.”

The kneejerk take is to assume that the subscription option will likely only excite friends and family, except perhaps on a few rare days when some sort of must-see round is emerging. On the other hand, as noted with Fox'sextensive U.S. Open package and to a lesser extent at the Masters where the selected groups can vary, the "featured group" component may be a better way to watch golf because (A) you see stars and (B) you get into the flow of a grouping, a round and get a better sense of the golf course by following one group.

There is also the intriguing ramification of the PGA Tour putting out an offering of their own which, at least in the featured group setting, will compete with their partner at the Golf Channel. Like other leagues who have started channels and supplemental coverage, it's an intriguing move that could be seen as the first step to an independent network approach (until they do the math and realize how nice it is to have someone else pay for the right to televise the product).

PGATOURLIVE is offering a free seven day sampler and remember, this is in partnership with Major League Baseball, pioneers in the streaming world. They have an incredible customer satisfaction record and are leaders in the world of streaming, so it will function well.

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR LIVE Debuts This Week at Quicken Loans National

First-of-its-Kind OTT Subscription Service Provides Exclusive Live Coverage of Featured Morning Groups during the First Two Rounds of Competition

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (July 28, 2015) – PGA TOUR fans will have access to Thursday and Friday tournament rounds for the first time ever beginning this week (July 30-31 from the Quicken Loans National) with the debut of the PGA TOUR’s first-ever, digital Over-The-Top subscription service. As announced in April, PGA TOUR LIVE, developed in partnership with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), will provide fans access to exclusive live coverage of two different marquee morning groups featuring the TOUR’s biggest stars each day during Thursday and Friday tournament rounds that have never been available live.

“PGA TOUR LIVE is a groundbreaking service for golf fans, enabling them to watch live Thursday and Friday early morning action as soon as competition begins,” said Rick Anderson, the PGA TOUR’s Executive Vice President for Global Media. “We’re confident that this exclusive coverage of marquee groups, alongside our Thursday and Friday Golf Channel telecasts, has strong potential to build fan interest and viewership for our traditional television coverage.”

PGA TOUR LIVE begins with seven tournaments through the remainder of the 2014-15 PGA TOUR season and, moving forward, more than 30 PGA TOUR events per season. Initially available through a special seven-day free trial on iPhone, iPad and desktop/laptop platforms (at PGATOURLIVE.COM), fans will now be able to follow the game’s biggest names with full coverage from a dedicated broadcast team leading up to Golf Channel’s afternoon telecasts.

PGA TOUR LIVE debuts Thursday at 7:30 a.m. ET and will provide exclusive shot-by-shot coverage of the following groups on Thursday: 8:10 a.m., THE PLAYERS champion Rickie Fowler paired with Ben Crane and James Hahn, two of the players starring in the PGA TOUR LIVE ad campaign (see links below); 8:21 a.m., former Quicken Loans National champion and The Presidents Cup 2015 International Team vice-captain K.J. Choi from host country South Korea with International Team hopefuls Danny Lee of New Zealand and John Senden of Australia.

Friday’s 8:10 a.m. feature group includes three former Quicken Loans National champions: tournament host Tiger Woods, Bill Haas and Nick Watney. At 8:21 a.m., defending Quicken Loans National champion Justin Rose tees off with Jimmy Walker, No. 3 in the FedExCup points standings with two wins this season, and David Lingmerth of Sweden, who won his first PGA TOUR title last month at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance.

Following the conclusion of the featured groups on Thursday and Friday, PGA TOUR LIVE will shift its live broadcast coverage to the Featured Holes at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club – a pair of par-3s, the 11th and 16th. Overall, PGA TOUR LIVE will deliver access to more than 11 hours of live coverage to fans each day.

Hosting the coverage throughout the season will be veteran broadcasters John Swantek, Brian Katrek, Grant Boone and Ned Michaels. They will be joined by a team of former PGA TOUR regulars as on-course analysts: Bill Kratzert, Craig Perks, Phil Blackmar, Aaron Oberholser, John Maggines, Mark Carnevale, Phil Tataurangui and Gary Christian.

PGA TOUR LIVE initially will be available in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia and the United Kingdom. Other markets will follow.

Graham Ruthven of the New York Times reports from Turnberry where the Ricoh Women's British Open arrives this week.

Now managed by Donald Trump, the planned overhaul of the resort and the high-profile nature of its brand icon, whose recent controversial comments may or may not bring extra attention to this week's event.

Trump has pledged around $250 million in investment toward his Turnberry resort, and with gold fixtures, marble floors and shimmering glass now adorning the recently renovated clubhouse, it is easy to see how $10 million of that money has already been spent.

Most locals seem hesitant to comment on Trump’s character, as if torn between wanting to voice their derision and express begrudging gratitude for the investment he has plowed into the region.

“We try to ignore what he says in the media,” one man said. Another golfer — a tourist from Connecticut — quipped, “He’s better at owning golf courses than is he at being a politician.”

Make sure to stay long enough with the story for the correction.

Meanwhile, in the player category, Beth Ann Nicholsreports that Michelle Wie was inspired by the men's Open at St Andrews and will be pushing her injured leg to get her around Turnberry.

As noted here a few days ago, there wasn't as much to be ashamed of in the putt left short at St. Andrews by Jason Day. Still, that missed opportunity to put himself in The Open playoff ultimately won by Zach Johnson was certainly on his mind at the RBC Canadian Open, where Day just won his fourth PGA Tour event and second of 2015.

“The first thing I said was I’ve got to get to the hole this time, that’s what I said in my head.

"There's no better feeling than coming down to the wire and contending with these guys. It was just back and forth all day, and I'm so glad that I got that putt in.

"To be able to do that it just gives me a lot more confidence going in to the rest of the season."Day, who had been in contention for the past two majors, the US Open and The Open at St Andrews, fired a final round four-under-par 68 to finish 17 under the card to beat American Bubba Watson by a shot.

A further stroke back was hometown hope David Hearn who was aiming to become the first Canadian winner in 61 years.

The highlights of what turned out to be a compelling final round at Glen Abbey.